Thrakk
Origin To the north of the Boarhart Lands, in the region called Marsabia, it is not uncommon to find nomadic clans of bugbears roaming the land. It was in one such clan, the Redfang clan, that Thrakk was born. He was kept with the other cubs while the able-bodied clan members went out raiding, and when the news came that his parents had been killed in a raid on an unusually well-guarded merchant caravan, Thrakk's grandmother took over raising him. He grew very close to his Gram, and when it came time for Thrakk to move up from simple hunting for the clan and go into the raiding bands, Gram made a protection talisman from bear claws he had gathered, in the tradition of their people. Awakening As the clan traveled, they found themselves near a hill with a large monastery at the top. The clan was running low on supplies, and knew that they had to raid a settlement soon. The scouting parties reported that it wasn't guarded, and it didn't even seem like the people inside had weapons, so the clan quickly rushed in to take the grounds. The monks inside put up a fight, but the swarm of large, hairy goblinoids overtook them, and the monastery was sacked. During the raid, one of the grey-haired monks saw something in Thrakk, and before his head was split open by another bugbear's axe, he thrust an old tome and several scrolls into Thrakk's hands and left him with these words: “you are more than this. The shadows see you, child. The shadows will give you strength.” Upon returning to the clan, Thrakk began reading what the old monk had given him. The book spoke of manipulating one's life-force, and Thrakk, not being one for spirituality or religion, initially considered discarding the book and scrolls altogether. His curiosity was piqued though, and he began studying the materials more and more. His fellow clan members noticed that when they went on raids, his fighting changed. No longer was he a wild destructive force like they were; no, his fighting had form, elegance even. He began to be singled out by his clan for being “weird” and for “dancing on the battlefield.” After a while of this, Thrakk decided that it was in his best interest to leave the clan, and though it pained him greatly to leave his Gram, he knew that it would be better for her if he left. Recent Story Once leaving the clan, Thrakk wandered for a while, trying to get work in human society. However, the Boarhart lands were not the most accepting of bugbears, and he was hard-pressed to find any kind of employment. He eventually heard from a tavern keeper that there was an opportunity for work down south in Aebros, and the people who were giving the opportunity didn't care about his heritage. In the Ivory Bay in Aebros, he found that the people giving the job were the Tankard Company, and through the mission for them, he also got connected with Faldo, one of the hands on the Green Mary, an Aebrosi privateer ship. Thrakk ended up traveling with the Green Mary for a while, and currently travels with them while also completing contracts for the Tankard Company. It was through these travels that Thrakk also met Overa Fiola, who, even though they've only worked a couple of jobs together, Thrakk considers to be one of his best friends. Personality Thrakk grew up outside of humanoid society, and thus has a different view of morality than humanoids. To him, “good” was anything that helped him look out for himself, and “evil” is anything that went against his best interest. Given that he grew up outside humanoid society, he is also used to people being very wary of him, and gets attached quickly to people who accept him despite the fact that he is a bugbear. Because of this, Thrakk is generally kind to everyone he meets, and tends to only view people as outright enemies if they instigate things first. However, since the Tankard Company accepted him, any people they tell him to attack, he will. Thrakk also carries with him some superstitions from his upbringing. Bugbear elders tell the cubs stories similarly to how human children are told “old wives' tales.” Thrakk took some of these a little too literally though, mainly because his Gram was such a good storyteller. To this day, Thrakk is more or less terrified of cards, due to a story of great destruction coming from a deck of cards (meant to keep cubs from gambling).